RAVAGERS (1979)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *drama*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *cosmological. sociological*

I've read that RAVAGERS was based on a well-written post-apocalyptic novel, but there's no trace of anything good here. The movie looks like something that might have been cranked out in the early, pre-STAR WARS 1970s, when the majority of science fiction films were a bunch of grim warnings about dire futures-- though even the dullest of these is more exciting than this dreary flick.

RAVAGERS was issued in the same year as Australia's MAD MAX, but it feels as if director Richard Compton and writer Donald Sanford (both guys with lots of TV credits) saw MAX and tried to do the exact opposite. Some years after the apocalypse, Falk (Richard Harris) and his wife Miriam live a hardscrabble existence, somehow dodging the attentions of the titular Ravagers, violent raiders who may or may not be mutants of some sort. The Ravagers find Falk's hideaway and kill Miriam before Falk kills them, Deeply bereaved, Falk remembers Miriam's desire to find a fabled realm where plants and children still grow, so he reluctantly goes in search of this promised land.

At first, all Falk finds is a batty old fellow, Sergeant (Art Carney), who threatens to kill Falk for trespassing on his long-abandoned military installation. However, after Falk disarms the old crazy, Sergeant decides that Falk is really his superior, "the Major," and Falk can't convince him otherwise (which, for what it's worth, resembles a plot-thread in MAD MAX: BEYOND THUNDERDOME). Sergeant doesn't know anything about any promised land, but he guides "the Major" to a small human enclave where one can get liquor-- and women.

I'm not sure how much time is supposed to have passed since Falk lost his wife, but he's duly intrigued by one woman of the tribe, Faina (Ann Turkel). At first their relationship is strictly business, with Falk trading tobacco for sex. However, after the deal's done, Falk talks in his sleep about his dead wife. This is enough for Faina to sniff out a potential mate, and from then on, both Faina and Sergeant follow Falk on his quest. The frustrated hunter says something like, "I don't want you dead, but I want you gone." But his wishes are ignored.

After a lot of wandering with no violent altercations, Falk and his allies stumble across a group of ex-military people holed up in a beached battleship. This still isn't the promised land, but Falk tries without success to convince these isolated guardians to join his quest. The leader (Ernest Borgnine, only in the film for one scene) refuses, and then the matter is rendered academic. For some reason, the Ravagers attack the ship, killing many of the residents. Falk gets an even larger coterie to follow him around looking for the promised land, and then-- the film ends.

Despite some scattered fight-scenes that make this a combative film, RAVAGERS is never exciting, while Falk and Faina, who comprise the film's only half-interesting character relationship, never reach a satisfying conclusion. The movie almost feels as if the makers thought they were doing a pilot for a TV-series, and it's only of slight interest in that it shows former A-list star Richard Harris slumming in the superhero idiom.